Advanced: Create or edit CSV or iCal files before importing

You can import CSV (Comma Separated Values) files into Google Calendar. If you get an error while importing a CSV file, you might be able to fix the formatting.

Open an existing CSV file or create a new one using a spreadsheet editor like Google Sheets.

The first row of your spreadsheet will include headers like Subject and Start Date. The headers must be in English. See the list below for the correct headers.

Each row below the header row represents an event. See example:

Subject

Start date

Start time

Final exam

05/30/2020

10:00 AM

When you're done, save the file as a .csv file. You can then import the file into Google Calendar using the directions above.

Headers and event formatting in CSV files

Only the first two headers in this list are required, the rest are optional.

Important: The headers must be in English as shown below. If any event details have commas (like the location example below), you can include them by using quotation marks around the text

Subject
The name of the event, required.
Example: Final exam

Start Date
The first day of the event, required.
Example: 05/30/2020

Start Time
The time the event begins.
Example: 10:00 AM

End Date
The last day of the event.
Example: 05/30/2020

End Time
The time the event ends.
Example: 1:00 PM

All Day Event
Whether the event is an all-day event. Enter True if it is an all-day event, and False if it isn't.
Example: False

Description
Description or notes about the event.
Example: 50 multiple choice questions and two essay questions

Location
The location for the event.
Example: "Columbia, Schermerhorn 614"

Private
Whether the event should be marked private. Enter True if the event is private, and False if it isn't.
Example: True

The examples above would create the event "Final exam" on May 30, 2020 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The location would be "Columbia, Schermerhorn 614," the description would be "50 multiple choice questions and two essay questions," and it would be a private event.

iCalendar files are a standard calendar format used to transfer calendar data. If you get an error while importing an iCAL ("ics") file, you might be able to fix the formatting.

Open an existing ICAL file or create a new one. You'll need to use a text editing application that can save iCalendar files.

Format your file according to the guidelines below. You can export an ICAL file from Google Calendar to use as an example.

When you're done, save the file as an iCalendar ("ics") file.

Format iCalendar files

The first line in an iCalendar file must always be the header BEGIN:VCALENDAR. This must be followed by other header information, including VERSION:2.0 and "PRODID:<[enter ID information here]>". The last line of the file must be the footer END:VCALENDAR. Between these lines is where all the events in the calendar are entered. Each event must be between BEGIN:VEVENT and END:VEVENT lines.

If you need to manually edit an iCalendar file, make sure that each file contains the header and footer. If you're not sure where your header ends, just copy and paste the text until one line above BEGIN:VEVENT, which is where your header ends and your event data starts.

Here's what an iCalendar file looks like. An iCalendar file can also have more information, but these are the required parts.